Fishing is one of the most enjoyable and simple activities that you can enjoy. One of the best parts about fishing is that there is a massive scale and learning curve, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it even at a basic level.
There are people all along the spectrum of fishing, from the very beginner amateurs to the hardcore dedicated fishing lovers. And the methods can vary dramatically, from fly fishing, to spear fishing, and everything in between. It’s also interesting to hear people talk about what they do, as everyone has their own little individual style, and this is why we wanted to talk about this today.
Considering there is so much variation in how people fish, we were excited to discuss some of our favorite fishermen. From bass fishermen, to fly fishermen, to some famous celebrities who are avid fishermen themselves, here are 10 fishermen that we think you should know.
Matts Madsen aka “Fisherman’s Life”
Matts Madsen is one of, if not, the largest fishing presences on the internet today. Over 7 years ago, he started his YouTube channel called Fisherman’s Life, where he films videos of him fishing all over Northern California. The reason that we put him on this list is because he reminds us all of why we love fishing so much. His videos are simple and down-to-earth, and his format makes you feel like it’s just you, him and fishing. He’s clearly a knowledgeable fisherman, but he doesn’t overcomplicate things and makes it easy for beginners to understand what he’s using and why. Sometimes he’s using fancy equipment, and sometimes it’s as simple as just a single cheap rod, but either way, he truly makes the viewer feel the passion he does for fishing.
Jeremy Wade
Best known for his appearance as the host of River Monsters on Animal Planet, Jeremy Wade is certainly the most famous fisherman on TV, going after some of the toughest, most frightening fish that the world has ever known. And while his feats on River Monsters are truly impressive, his knowledge actually extends much farther and has written several books on the topic of fishing. What we like most about Jeremy is that he combines the knowledge he has with a child-like fascination for his work. Many of his most famous catches are truly nightmarish creatures, and show just how amazing the sport of fishing can be, especially when comparing his acts to simple freshwater bass fishing.
Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler, as it turns out, is an avid fishing enthusiast. Many know him as the Fonz from the TV show “Happy Days” and plenty of other appearances on screen, but it turns out that he is quite the outdoorsman. His Twitter is filled with pictures of him posing with fish he catches, and it seems that he is a big trout fisherman. Living in Idaho, he often goes fly-fishing and posts his catches and the gorgeous scenery that he gets to experience. Being that he is still relatively active in show business, it’s great to see that he still makes the time to chase his passions of fishing as much as he does, especially since he is now in his mid 70s.
Jimmy Kimmel
Henry Winkler is not the only celebrity that has a passion for fishing as well. Jimmy Kimmel, the late night TV show host, is also well known for his obsession with fishing. He has an enormous, multi million dollar property just for fishing, which he can often be found at fly fishing. Generally known for his trout fishing, just like Henry Winkler, Jimmy occasionally posts pictures of his catches that he makes while on vacation at his fishing lodge. Given how stressful his daily life and job is, it’s really no surprise to see him kick back and get away from the day to day work he has by going on a fishing trip.
Barack Obama
Obama is obviously most famous for being the president of the US, but in fact, it seems that he is a fan of fishing as well. In the picture you can see Obama fishing for trout alongside a guide in Montana. Other than that, however, he has also been on a big fly fishing trip in the Adirondack mountains, and clearly is able to appreciate the outdoors plenty. One of the most interesting things for him is that, due to his great efforts in conservation, he had a fish named after him: Tosanoides obama, a small Hawaiian reef fish (which is where Obama is from).
BlackTipH
BlackTipH is another massive creator in the fishing space on social media. With over 4 million subscribers, Josh Jorgenson hosts the show and boasts some of the most incredible catches around the world. In the photo shown, he is holding an absolutely enormous bluefin tuna in the New York City harbor, and this is very representative of the content he produces. He has some absolutely wild videos and pictures of his trips, and shows us the top levels of what we dream to catch one day. What we like most about BlackTipH is that their content is so well produced. They clearly have a very high budget, and the filming and editing really shows that off, while also managing to stay somewhat personable, especially showing genuine excitement for all the amazing catches they have.
Jacob Wheeler
Switching gears from content creators to professionals, it’s impossible to talk about fishing for sport without considering Jacob Wheeler, one of the most famous professional fishermen. Jacob is currently, as of writing this, the no. 1 ranked bass fisherman in the world. Based out of Tennessee, he originally was from Indiana where he began his fishing career. The tournaments he competes in have massive payouts, some up to $100,000, and his current career earnings stand at over $2.6 million dollars. It sounds like a dream to us, being able to make millions of dollars from fishing! That said, he always maintains that it’s all about love for fishing and competition, which we can absolutely respect. He also has a website where he posts videos of his tips for fishing. It certainly sounds nice to hear tips and tricks on fishing from the best fisherman in the world, and we appreciate him helping everyone out purely from passion.
Ray Scott
Ray Scott was effectively one of the founders of the sport of fishing in the world today, specifically bass fishing. Born in the 1930s, fishing was not as serious or as much of a sport when he was younger, and he sought to change that. He saw the potential to make bass fishing into a sport, and formed the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. He was based out of Alabama, and by organizing smaller tournaments around his area and bringing them together into something larger. Unfortunately, he passed away in May of this year, but the impact he left on the fishing world will be remembered forever.
Oprah Winfrey
The biggest surprise angler on this list would be Oprah Winfrey. Of course, everyone knows Oprah from her classic talk show, but even those who watched intently might be surprised to hear that she is a fan of fishing. Years ago, she went on a big camping and fishing trip in Yosemite. But since then, she has talked about fly fishing and also has fished in Paula Deen’s catfish pond. Pictured is Oprah on a boat in Sydney with Russel Crowe, and we’d hope that she did some fishing while she was there.
Ernest Hemingway
Finally, Ernest Hemingway was an amazing fisherman as well. One of his most famous pieces ever written is The Old Man and the Sea, which is a story about an extremely long battle that a fisherman has with a marlin. Interestingly enough, he was actually known for his big game fishing, which explains why he was able to go into so much detail in that story. There were issues in catching big fish at that time with sharks eating the fish that had been hooked, but Hemingway had an amazing strategy to combat that; he would shoot at them. While a completely absurd technique to use today, it was actually very effective.
And that concludes our list of 10 fishermen that you should know. Do you know any fishermen we should hear about? Let us know, and let us know if there is anything else you would want us to write about. Thanks!